Lisette Melendez

Who is Lisette Melendez?
She is a freestyle/latin pop/dance-pop singer best known for her 1991 hits “Together Forever” and “A Day In My Life (Without You)”, featuring her powerful and sultry vocals.

Where and when was she born?
In 1976, in Spanish (East) Harlem, New York City.

Whoa! That’s not a very safe neighborhood, is it?
Indeed, not. However, she escaped the danger of the streets by listening to and singing music in her room.

What was her inspiration?
She was inspired from childhood by her mother and aunt, both of whom sang in community theater and church choir. As a teen, she tried to emulate the voices of Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler, and in high school, she admired Lisa Lisa, also of Puerto Rican ancestry.

How did her career begin?
In 1988, her break arrived in the opportunity to sing backup vocals for a track by Make Noise, a dance music group formed by record producer Carlos Berrios, who had also worked with Sweet Sensation and Samantha Fox. After a few years touring dance clubs, Berrios had her record the single “Together Forever”, followed by a full album with Fever/Columbia Records.

Why was her debut album so significant?
Together Forever sold over 700,000 records, becoming a gold record. Both songs, “Together Forever” and “A Day In My Life (Without You)”, were such big dance music hits that they are credited as helping renew interest in Freestyle music in the early 1990s, when it had been fading in relation to mainstream pop music and grunge.

What were the ’90s like for Lisette Melendez?
That decade she released three more albums:

True To Life came out in 1994, with the hits “Goody Goody” and “Will You Ever Save Me.” The Japanese loved her, commercially and critically, awarding her a “Best New Artist” Grammy Award.
Un Poco De Mi, a salsa album, was released in 1998, sung in Spanish. It scored a hit with “Algo de Mi.”
Imagination, later in 1998, had the song “Time Passes By,” but did not gain mass radio airplay and success like her previous singles.

How has she been keeping busy in this decade?
In 2005, Melendez partnered with Cynthia, a fellow Freestyle artist, on the single “I Can’t Change Your Mind,” as the duo, Liscyn; and in 2008, Lisette Melendez teamed up with her past music producer Carlos Berrios for two new tracks, “I Need a Lover” and “Don’t Ever Say,” on Albums “Don’t Look Back” Sessions One & Two.

So, what have been her singles?